When I first started to throw, I would only go out on days when it
was calm. I didn't think it was possible to throw with much success
in windy conditions. Even the first couple of years that I went to
tournaments, I didn't know how to throw in wind. It was not until I
lived in the "windy city," Chicago, that I learned how to throw in
wind. All it took to learn how to throw in wind, was to go out and
throw in wind. It is possible to have success in windy conditions.

There are four basic ways to deal with wind:

East throw, or "surfing throw"

Humpback throw

Drag producing additions that slow the boomerang down

Adding weight

Surfing Throw
The simplest way to deal with wind is to throw your boomerang with
less power. The key to this type of approach is to impart a lot of
spin, by snapping your wrist, without providing a lot of forward
velocity. The wind speed will supply most of the boomerangs velocity.
Also, you must release the boomerang higher and with more layover than
usual; this will prevent the boomerang from getting blown into the ground.
In huge wind, throw your boomerang with 40 degrees altitude and 45 degrees
layover with no forward velocity and tons of spin. Your boomerang will
ride on the wind like a surfer rides on a wave. Although this is a
spectacular way to deal with wind, it is the least effective of the
four methods.

Humpback Throw
Throw with a vertical release, high altitude and hard throw! If you
utilized this throw on a calm day, your boomerang would fly up high
and then crash into the ground half way through its turn. But on a
windy day the boomerang will not crash into the ground--the wind will
save it from crashing and then push it back to you. The flight pattern
goes from very high, to low, to medium high as it flies back to you.
The reason this type of throw works is because the boomerang loses
forward velocity as it tries to crash into the ground. Generally,
in windy conditions, if you throw your boomerang more vertical and/or
with a higher altitude, it will come back more accurately.

Drag
The most effective way to deal with wind is to add drag to your boomerangs.
Drag will slow the boomerang down and prevent it from flying over and past
your head. If you make your own boomerangs, you can drill holes into your
boomerangs. The more holes, or the closer the holes are to the tips, the
more drag you will have. If you don't make your own boomerangs, you can
still drill holes in the boomerangs you have purchased. Leaving the leading
edges dull on your boomerangs will also yield velocity reducing drag.

The most convenient way to add drag is to place taped flaps on your boomerangs.
Duct tape or electrical tape will work fine. Wrap your boomerang with tape and
fold the tape back onto itself in a small section so that you have a flat flap
sticking straight up from the wing. The larger the flaps or the closer the
flaps are to the tip the more drag. Every shape will react differently to
flaps. So, you will have to experiment to see which location works best for
your throw and boomerang. Generally, flaps near the center of the wing in the
upper elbow area work best.

Weight
Adding weight, such as taping a coin to the wing, will cause your boomerang
to travel further and it will help combat windy conditions. Start with a dime
or penny taped to the flat side of the lift arm tip. In windy conditions, use
larger coins or multiple coins. Again, you will have to experiment and find
which spot works best for your boomerang and throwing style.

Conclusion
When throwing in wind it is helpful to understand that boomerangs
don't come back very accurately. If you don't mind a little running,
the rewards for a catch are great. And when you do flap, weight, or throw
the boomerang just right, and it comes back accurately, it is very satisfying.

The key to learning how to throw in wind, is to go out and throw in wind!
Simple as that. Try flaps, weights, humpbacks and surfing. The best solution
is probably a combination of one or more these techniques. Try them all,
experiment and have fun.

Do you throw boomerangs and have no one to throw with? Do you want to
spread your knowledge about boomerangs and teach others how to throw?
Do you want to create a local boomerang scene that is fun and informative?
If you answer yes to any of these, then you might want to start teaching a
local drop-in boomerang class. Such a class can introduce many people to
the fun and exciting sport of boomeranging. This is how I did it:

When I started throwing boomerangs in the Oakland area, in 1984, I was
one of only two people who threw. This being the case, I decided to
teach as many people about this sport as I could. I told everyone I
knew that I would be at Strawberry Field every Saturday and Sunday at
noon. I didn't reserve the field, the field just seemed to be free
each weekend. People showed up, and I taught them how to throw. With
only word of mouth promotion, I taught many people about the sport of
boomeranging.

When I went to college at the Evergreen State College in Olympia,
Washington, in 1985, I used the same word of mouth approach, at first,
and I taught many people how to throw booms. I then approached the
Recreation Department and Student Union with proposals for weekly
boomerang classes and tournaments. They were hesitant at first, but
we showed them literature on boomerangs, taught them how to throw and
discussed safety. They gave us permits to use the fields for classes
and tournaments. We posted announcements around school and town, talked
about the weekly class on the school radio, arranged for articles to
appear in the local papers and continued word of mouth promotion. We
submitted proposals to the Student Union and they allocated funds to
help us run our events. By the third year, we had the largest student
group on campus. With a little persistent hard work we introduced many
people to the sport of boomeranging.

When I arrived at the Chicago Art Institute, in 1988, I was well versed
in how to get a weekly boom class going. I found a section of Grant Park
that was free on Wednesdays and Fridays and started to talk up boomerangs
to everyone I met. I put up flyers, wrote articles for the student paper
and submitted proposals to the Student Union. The classes were successful
and many new people learned about the joys of boomerang throwing. We even
got a spot on a local television show called "Where's Wallace?".

When I moved back to Oakland, in 1991, I started meeting people at Billy
Martin Field every Saturday. I put up flyers at local stores that sold
boomerangs, contacted local papers which listed free events, and sent
a proposal to the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department. One of the
local stores had a connection at a local TV station, and the TV
station did a report on boomerangs for their morning show; one
of the local papers came out and did an article on the boom class;
and the Recreation Department, after troublesome negotiations, did
give us a free permit to use Billy Martin Field every Saturday.
They still send us the permit for Billy Martin Field every three
months.

In all three places that I have taught free weekly drop-in boomerang
classes, many people learned about boomerangs. Many of them are
still throwing today. The sport of boomeranging is still a sport
in its infancy, and the best way to help the sport grow is at the
grass roots level: just teach some friends, or some interested
locals. Whether you meet at a field casually, or organize through
the Recreation Department, it all helps the wonderful sport of
boomeranging grow!

If not having enough boomerangs to hold a class is a problem, get
out there and make a bunch, or phone Gel Boomerangs and ask for
the club/class discount. And it does not matter if you hold a
class once a week, or month, or only once in a while. The key
is to get out and share your enjoyment of booms! Have fun teaching
people about boomerangs. If it is fun for you to teach others how
to throw booms, then it can be fun for them also. So get out there
and teach people the joys of boomeranging!

The contemporary sport of boomeranging started in 1969 in Washington D.C.
when Ben Ruhe ran a boomerang making and throwing workshop at the
Smithsonian Institute. The workshop was a huge success and by the late 1970s
the event had evolved into a national championship for boomerang throwing.
In 1979 the United States Boomerang Association was formed in order to
standardize boomerang competitions and sanction events around the country.
Events such as Accuracy, Consecutive Catch, Maximum Time Aloft, Australian
Round (points for distance and accuracy), Fast Catch (fastest time to throw
and catch five times) Endurance (most catches in five minutes), Doubling
(throwing two with one hand) and Juggling (the number of consecutive catches
with two boomerangs, keeping at least one boomerang aloft at all times) were
standardized. With boomerang events standardized, the decade of the eighties
saw boomerang designs and technology blossom, and international competition
begin. In the 1990s boomerang designs and international competition have
continued to improve. The USA National Boomerang Team has won eight of the
ten World Championships held, including the 1994 World Championships that
were held in Tokyo. Australia won in 1984 and Germany won in 1996.

After all the years that I have been throwing, the greatest joy I have
experienced with boomerangs happened the first day I threw out a boomerang,
that I had crafted, and it came back. I had spent an hour and a half cutting
and sanding my boomerang. When I was finished, I ran out of the workshop and
down to the nearest clear area. I stood in the middle of intersecting train
tracks and threw my stick out. It went out, then curved. And it came back.
It came back to me. I didn't believe it, so I threw it again. It came back
to me. It was an amazing feeling that I still remember vividly. It is that
feeling that I can see in people's faces when I teach them how to make
boomerangs. Since that first day, I have taught and continue to teach people
how to make boomerangs. Teaching people how to make boomerangs is a great
way to get new throwers involved in the sport. When new throwers throw a
stick out that they have crafted, and it comes back, they love it. That love
is the reason we all are involved with boomerangs. Boomerangs are magic. If
throwers can make the magic, they are hooked.

So, it follows, that a great way to help our sport grow, is to teach people
how to make boomerangs. The necessary prerequisite for a person to teach a
boomerang making workshop, is the knowledge about how to make boomerangs.

If you have been making boomerangs for awhile and know how to diagnose and
correct flight problems, you would be an appropriate person for the teaching
position. If you don't know how to make boomerangs, but would like to learn
how so you could teach a workshop, The book Boomerangs How To Throw, Catch
and Make It by Ben Ruhe and Eric Darnell will help. You can find diagrams
and notes about how to make boomerangs in this book. The book is out of
print, but you can find this book at most libraries. If your local library
does not have it, you should be able to get it through interlibrary loan.
The most important area of knowledge for a boom workshop teacher to be familiar
with is how to diagnose and correct flight problems. In this article it is
difficult to give advice about how to correct non-returning flight
patterns with corrective airfoil additions. It is difficult because
different shapes require different types of corrective airfoil additions.
Although, generally, I can say this about two arm boomerangs:

If your boomerang climbs too high and does not return all the way, or has an
"S" flight, there is too much lift built into the lift arm (possibly too
much undercut or bend in the lift arm). The corrective airfoil addition
would be to carve undercut into the dingle arm (carving on the leading edge, flat side of the dingle
arm), or, to remove some of the undercut from the leading edge, flat side of the lift arm by
flattening out the leading edge.

If your boomerang curves without climbing high and crashes into the ground,
there is too much lift built into the dingle arm (possibly too much undercut
or bend in the dingle arm). The corrective airfoil addition would be to
carve undercut into the lift arm (carving on the leading edge, flat side of
the lift arm), or, to remove some of the undercut from the dingle arm by flattening out the leading
edge.

In addition to the knowledge of boomerang making, you will need a location to accommodate a
number of students, tools, materials, and a throwing area. A
woodworking shop, large garage or a throwing field would be appropriate for
teaching a workshop. For all three locations you need plenty of table space
so people can work. In the case of a woodworking shop or garage, you would
have to make the boomerangs, and then go to a field to test and correct the
flights. In the case of the throwing field, you would have to bring tables
out for people to work on, but no traveling is necessary to do the flight
testing. A sheet of aircraft plywood will be more than enough wood to teach
a workshop.

To find wood, phone around to your local wood suppliers, or consult the USBA
wood source list. When buying wood, it will help to select a piece that is
fairly flat, so as to avoid flight problems with the boomerangs. The best
idea would be to cut a few blanks for each student. It would be smart to
select a boomerang design that works well and is a proven flyer. If you use
flat wood, and a proven design, you should not have many flight problems.
The tools needed to teach a workshop are relatively simple. Files, clamps,
sandpaper, and some sort of stain or paint. Power tools are not particularly
feasible when teaching a number of people. They are expensive, injury
potential to students is great, and power sources are cumbersome for
on-field use. Clamps of any sort will do: standard "C" clamps or vise-grip
"C" clamps will work for clamping the boomerangs to the table. Flat and
round files in course and fine are the tools needed to do the rough sanding.
80, 150 and 220 grit sandpaper will smooth the boomerangs out. After flight
testing is done, paint or stain can be applied to seal the boomerangs.

When designing the workshop, you will need to determine how many people you
want to teach, and then arrange for the proper number of tools and
equipment. For a class of ten people, you will need, approximately: 20-25
boomerang blanks; 7 each of flat and round course and fine files; 10 clamps;
10-15 pieces each of 80, 150 and 220 grit sand paper; stain or paint. The
appropriate throwing area would be a large field with a section for making
and a large section for people to test. The test area should be very large
so that boomerangs can hit the ground and roll straight, or fly out of
control (people are learning). Usually, reserving a field is done through
the City Parks and Recreation Department.

The cost to run a workshop for ten people, tools and materials, is
approximately $150.00. Charging a $10.00 to $15.00 per person fee is a
bargain for the students. You will then have the tools paid for, and you can
run future workshops. The files are the biggest expense. Look around for
bargains. Maybe a friend has a pile of files in their basement? A proposal
to the local Parks and Recreation department may prove fruitful. Parks and
Recreation departments usually have access to local school woodworking
shops. For on-field workshops, the Parks and Recreation Departments may
provide tables and tools.

The above suggestions have worked for the boomerang making workshops that I
have taught over the years. The idea is to spread the joy and magic of
boomeranging. And there is no better way to share the boomerang bug than to
teach throwers how to make the magic stick that, when you throw it out,
comes back to you.

Birch plywood is a common source material for crafting boomerangs. A less
common material is phenolic. The boomerangs yielded from phenolic are
fantastic flyers, the only drawback is that it is dangerous to work with.

Phenolic is a resin composite that is available in sheets of varying sizes
and comes in three grades: paper phenolic, linen phenolic and canvas
phenolic. I have crafted boomerangs with paper and linen phenolic. Currently
I use only linen phenolic because it is a great deal stronger than paper
phenolic and it holds hand bent tunes well. You can purchase sheets in
varying thicknesses. 3/32" (0.094" or 2mm) phenolic works well for MTAs and
1/8" (0.125" or 3mm) phenolic works well for other boomerangs.

Phenolic can be purchased at plastic stores. You can find a full list of
plastic stores under "plastic" in your phone book. If your local stores do
not stock phenolic, or, there are no plastic stores in your area, you can go
to the library and locate plastic sources in phone books for large cities.
The most reliable source I have found is INTERSTATE PLASTICS in San Leandro,
California. They will sell 2'x 4' sheets and larger at very reasonable
prices and will ship UPS. You can contact them at 800-466-4341. Ask for
Ilona.

The advantage with phenolic is that you can construct boomerangs that are
thin and dense. The thinness helps the boomerangs handle wind. The density
causes the boomerangs to travel a great distance. You can make MTAs that
will travel higher than most wood MTAs, but they will also tend to descend
faster than wood MTAs because of the density. You can also make distance
boomerangs that are very accurate. Caution must be taken when making
phenolic boomerangs.

You do not want to breathe, under any circumstance, the phenolic dust. I do
not know what the physical/medical repercussions of breathing the dust are,
but as my warehouse neighbor, Dave Grover, told me once, "it is like having
acid and sandpaper in your lungs." There are ways to protect yourself. A
respirator with a rubber face seal will prevent the airborne dust from being
breathed. I use a 3M respirator: part #7200 Dual Cartridge Half-Mask
Respirator Face Piece with #7286 Cartridge Holder, #7255 High Efficiency
Filter, #7288 Retainer for High Efficiency Cartridge Filter. You can locate
such 3M items at most paint stores, or look in the phone book under "safety
equipment" for 3M retailers. You can also phone 3M at 800-243-4630. You will
also need an appropriate dust collecting system that collects the dust as
you produce it, such as you would find in most professional woodworking
shops. Other methods of collecting and disposing of the dust can be used but
are not as safe.

As far as tools are concerned, I have only constructed phenolic boomerangs
with power tools. Hand tools such as coping saws, files, and sandpaper could
be used, and in fact would be safer because the amount of dust generated
would be considerably less.

Making phenolic boomerangs is an involved task, but the rewards can be
great. Varying spectacular flights can be obtained with phenolic boomerangs
and many of the competition boomerangs used today are made from phenolic. If
you want thin, dense boomerangs that can attain great distances and return
accurately, or boomerangs that hold hand-bent tunes well, phenolic is a
great material to use.

It all started sometime in 1991 with our band called
Project 6.
We rehearsed in an East Oakland, CA warehouse called "The Bindery".
During breaks we would shoot hoops in an indoor court. The court
was your basic backboard and hoop put up on a catwalk between two rooms
in the main hallway. The game of choice was HORSE because of all the crazy
shots that were possible in the room.
In keeping with the mythology we created around the planet
Glorp
we decided to play the game using the letters GLORP instead of HORSE.

One day, we came in to rehearse and found that the backboard and hoop
was gone. One of the residents got tired of midnight games and ripped it
down. After we finished rehearsing, we headed out to Billy Martin
field to throw booms.

Being the only ones out that day, we started practicing various freestyle
catches. One of us (I can't remember who) suggested we play GLORP, boomerang
style. We collectively made up the rules right there. The basic idea (which
has evolved over time) is explained below.

Thoughts about G-L-O-R-P by Michael Gel Girvin

The game G-L-O-R-P was invented by Joe Miller, Dave Chavez and
Chris Walcott, the band members of the rock band Project Six.
They performed a song about the planet GLORP where aliens rode
boomerangs instead of cars. One day, Joe, Dave and Chris taught
me how to play. And I loved the spontaneous creativity of it so
much that I then taught the game to the rest of the boomerang world,
by running G-L-O-R-P at the National and the International tournaments
and every other tournament I ever went to. Throwers saw the rad,
creative elements and enjoyed playing.

Broadly defined, the significant essence of G-L-O-R-P, as an game and event,
is that it allows complete creativity. It also was one of the first
head-to-head games. With G-L-O-R-P, the dominator can do any throw or
catch that the throwers imagination can think up, and that is the magic. Really
amazing catches have been done: really hard catches such as foot hacky
to knee hacky to fist hacky to head hacky to one-handed, or foot hacky
to hand-plant head catch, or two feet on the ground Pink Flamingo; and
really simple, beautiful catches such as over the head behind the back,
and two feet on the ground one-handed clean. Sometimes you see flowing
combinations, or graceful spinning catches, or gutsy flipping snags!
And when the game narrows down to the last couple of "in the grove"
throwers, who are sending catches back and forth without dropping,
and the expected apex of catch difficulty is surpassed, then you see
true spontaneous, creative radness. That's G-L-O-R-P.

The facade called competition is an excuse to get together with other
boomers and have a good experience where time seems to stop because you are
there, in the present, catching your boom with friends. Any competition
with rules and regulations that, supposedly, can determine who the "best"
is, has the premise that there is a "best." But there is no "best." If a
"best" is determined, that decision is purely subjective. As an example:
one set of rules can say that whoever catches the most juggles is the
"best," but at the exact same moment, another set of rules can say that
whoever puts out the most effort trying to juggle is the "best." Both sets
of rules are totally subjective. As a result of the world's wonderful
subjectiveness, these rules are only a starting point that we can use to
conduct an Event that is about friendship and fun in the sun. Some of the
events listed below may seem too difficult for someone who is just
learning, but the idea behind these Team Events is that the beginner
throwers and the experienced throwers are on teams together so that the
beginners are allowed to try all events; the beginners are not excluded.
These rules and events are a compilation of rules taken from USBA Rules,
World Cup Rules, Dijon Boo Club Rules and Team Gel Rules. The rules
written here can change at any time if the context demands. Fun and
Enjoyment are the determining contexts, as is the concept of "beginning
boomerang throwers." The rules will always continually change.